Bottle crate



Apr 199 1927'.`

H. H. GERDING ET AL BOTTLE CRATE Filed May 19, 1925 I' Inventors 7M 6%. fuaul By 5de/ww() A 55M@ arm/eg.

` description'.

Patented Apr. 19, 1927.

uui'rii) STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT H. GERDING, 0F NEWPORT, AND EDWARD A. GERDING, OF FORT THOMAS,

KENTUCKY.

/BOTTLE Application led May 19,

Our inventionrelates to crates or boxes lhaving compartments or cells for holding bottles and the like, and more especially to crates of this character for carrying and storing milk bottles. Its object is to provide a compartment-forming structure for such crates which is readily manufactured andassembled and installed iii the crate, without the use of an excessive amount of material, dispensing entirely with the use of wires or rods which usually heretofore have constituted or made up an important part of such structures; and to provide such a structure in such form that it will have ample resistance against distortion from impacts downward'upon it, as by dropping `the .bottles thereon, yet will be in a high degree yielding sidewise, affordingv ample adjustment to bottles of varying sizes and. shapes due to inaccuracies in manufacture of bottles of the same nominal size, which inaccuracies are practically unavoidable. Other obJects will appear in the course of the ensuing We attain these objects by the device illustrated, for example, in Lthe accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a general perspective view off a milk-bottle crate embodying our invention7 parts being broken away and omitted to reveal the interior construction;

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of on of the longitudinal members; y

Fig. 3 is a similar view of one ofthe transverse members;

Fig. 4: is a similar view of parts of a longitudinal and a transverse member, inverted, further illustrating their relation where they cross each other;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of one of the transverse members, partly formed, further illustrating the formation of the members; and v Fig.` 6 is a similar view of one end partof one of the members, illustrating certain modifications.

CRATE.

1926; Serial No. 110,150.

outside corner Ystrips 4, and having at their tops suitable stacking guides 5. These dehand holds. -Also, as is known in the art,

near the open bottom of the structure thus formed, wires or rods 6 extend from one end wall 2 to the other, with 4their ends fastened in these walls, on which wires or rods the bottoms of the bottles rest; and, .as here shown, these rods are reinforced at the middle of the length of the crate by a strip 7 through which the rods extend, and which has its ends bent sidewise, forming ears 8 to rivet to the sidewalls of the crate, one of these ears being shown in Fig. 1. These details are described and shown merely to make up, with our present improvement, a complete illustration ofa crate in which it is embodied; and our invention is not limited to the accompaniment of these speciiic details. J i

The compartment-forming structure here illustrating our invention is designed to form -twelve`compartments, each to hold a bottle,

jar orthe like, in three rows of four each, lengthwise of the crate; there being two of the supporting rods 6 under each row. This structure involves the use of two longitudinal members 9 and three transverse meinbers 10; each member presenting laterally in each direction short segmental extensions 11, one at each compartment. The t, two middle compartments at each side, and the one middle compartment at each end, lack such segmental extensions next to the crate walls l and 2, respectively; the structure being so proportioned that when the bottle tits snugly between the three extensions 11 afforded for, these compartments, its fourth side will'be in tangential contact with Ythe ,wooden wall of the crate. Similarly, each corner coinpartment 'is afforded only two such segmental extensions l1; and the bottle contactsv with two of the wallsadjacent the crate corner. Where inside corner strips, such as the strips 3, are used, these are not allowed to extend far enough to be contacted by the bottles in the corner compartments.

The longitudinal members all are alike; and the transverse members all are alike and different from the longitudinal members, in addition to having only three instead of four sets of ,segmental extensions 11, in having notches 12 opening upwardly between sets of extensions 11, whereas the longitudinal members have the notches 13 opening downwardly. Thus, the members 9 and 10 interengage where they cross, each entering a notch of the other. The segmental extensions '11'are short enough so that those of the members 9 do not meet those of the members 10, leaving considerable spaces between the extensions at their corners; yet theV extensions of both members are so curved that, in any one compartment, they conform substantially to a circle which approximately is that of the circumference of the bottle to be held. Thus, though each segmental extension is considerably less than one-fourth `of a circle, owing to their distribution around the compartment, they form, in effect, an embracing holder for the bottle.

Moreover, these extensions 11 are formed by relatively thin sheet metal bent, first, out in both directions at` right-angles from the ,crossing portions of the members 9 and 10,

and then curving inward toward each other. Thus, these extensions are yielding to sidewise pressure from the inserted bottles; the curved portions 14 defiectinginwardly of the member and the end portions 15 being drawn somewhat toward each other under this strain. Additional sidewise adjustment is afforded by making the notches 12 and 13 of the members 1() and 9 considerably wider than the part of a member extending therethrough; as is best'seen in Fig. et. Thus, any one of the members9 and 10 may defleet as a whole, from end to end, in addition to the deflections of the individual extensions 11. Furthermore,l we prefer to attach these members 9 and 10 to the crate walls 1 andj2 by means of ears 16 extending up from the longitudinal center lines of the members, with holes 17 in the same alinement, through which rivets 18 pass into the crate walls 1 and 2. By this connectionof the ends of the membersito the walls, and as permitted by the widening of the notches 12 and 13 as just noted, eachmember 9 or 10 can swing sidewise in either direction, in addition to the deflections just described. In the modification of Fig. 6,-the ear 16 is formed by bending1 one side of the, member 9 sidewise, so that its rivet opening 17 is not alined with the member as a whole; but even this arrangement will ermit some sidewise swinging, although t e swinging will be partly upward and downward. Either this formation, or the first described, which is preferred, for the terminal ears of the members, may be employed throughout the structure. forall the members.

The preferred manufacture of the members 9 and 10 may be better understood by reference to the illustration of the partly formed member 10 in Fig. 5. First, the sheet metal blank has been formed of a flat, oblongstrip'with narrower extensions at its ends, to form theears 16, with the ear openings 17 therein; ``and longitudinal slits 19 are formed in this strip at intervals along its center line. Being one of the transverse members 10, transverse slots are formed in 4the strip midway between the slits 19,'to `form the notches 12. The areas alongside the slits 19 then are formed np, all in the same direction, forming the right-angle portions 15 for the ends of the extensions 11, and the intermediate curved portions 14 of these extensions. This is the stage of formation shown in Fig. 5. This formation then is folded along its longitudinal center line, downwardly from thel position shown throwing the extensions 11 out from each other, until ythe intermediate portions between the extensions, having the slots crosswise, form narrow deep channels, with the slots forming the notches 12, out through the junction edge of the channel, which is to be placed in the crate assembly with its open side downward and these notches upward. From the outer end of each terminal slit 19, the folding of the strip is diverged as indicated by the dotted lines 20 at the left end ofFig. 5, to the junction corners of the adjacent ears 16, so that the channel formation flares somewhat to have a wide top,`along the end of which the ear 1G is bent upward.

The formation of a longitudinal member `9 is the same as that described, except that instead of interior transverse slots to form notches 12, slots are formed in the opposite edges, at the same relative locations, to form the notches 1.3, which will openy out through the bttoms of the members when they are assembled with the open edges of their channel formations downward. And of course, as here shown, these members 9 are longer, and have four formations for extensions 11, instead yof three as in the memberv 10. To form the modified ear 16 of Fig. 6, the ear `extension, insteadfof being at the middle of the end of the oblongfblank, is formed at one side; merely one corner p0ri tion of the blank being cut away. This avoids the flaring formation ofthe channel; but such formation, for a centrally alined ear, is not particularly difficult, and is to be preferred, for the reasons beforenoted. An-

other modification also shown in Fig. 6, but not dependent upon the modified ear formation there shown, is a lengthenirw` of the slit 19 in proportion to the length of theextension 11', so that adjacent parts of the inter# mediate channel formations are cut away along the fold. This affords additional ilexlbility to the extensions while only slightly weakening the channel portions. This modification may be applied to all of the members, with either kind of ear formation.

It will be seen that almost all of the metal in the structure is disposed with its edges up and down; the best disposition of material in a beam-like. member, to resist vertical strains and impacts. These are the most severe stresses on such a structure, as the users of the crates often drop bottles onto the interior structure, which, when lilled with milk by such blows; and as they can turnA where n they are secured in the crate walls, they prelsent their bent portions sidewise, reducing This esthe widths of the compartments. pecially occurs after a wire has been bent in two directions, by successive blows, having turned partly between blows, so as to be in the shape of a crank, unavoidably presenting a sidewise distortion. Further, such wires have to have some kind of support at the middle ofthe crate, which generally reduces their yielding sidewise, yet does not safeguard against their distortion as ust noted. Also, to keep the bottles from tilting, two sets of wires, oneabove the other, are generally needed. Where sheet metal interior compartment-forming structures have been provided, reinforced by wires or rods, these latter practically nulli'fy whatever yieldingproperties the sheet metal may have had in itself. -It will be` seen that we so dispose the sheet metal that it is self supporting, is deep enough to prevent tilting of the bottles, with only one tier of compartment-forming means, and therefore makes Wire reinforcements unnecessary; and owing to its laterally'yielding nature, 'adjusts itself to odd sized bottles, and is not liable to serious distortion by the ordinary impacts incident to use. i

Having fully described our inyention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a bottle crate, in combination with side and vend walls, partition members each having segmental lateral extensions, each extension substantially less than ninety degrees in .length and disposed substantially symmetriclly to a center line atrright angle Sto the length of the member, each member being relatively deep and transversely thin between said extensions and crossing each other between the-extensions and having connec' i side and end walls, laterally iexible partition members each having segmental lateral extensions and having notches between the extensions and crossing each other, each within a notch of the other, said notches being substantially wider than the parts of the members crossing therein, allowing lateral liexing of the members.

3. In a bottle crate, in combination with side and end walls, partition members each having segmental lateral extensions and having notches between the extensions and crossing each other, each within a notch of the other, said members having offset end parts connected .to the respective walls to allow lateral swinging of the members, said notches being substantially wider than the parts of the members crossing therein, to allow said swinging.r

4. In a bottle crate, in combination with 'transversely thin segmental lateral extensions and relatively deep narrow cross-sections between the extensions whereby the extensions and the members from end .to end are laterally flexible but vertically relatively rigid, said members having notches in the narrow parts between the extensions, and crossing each other, each within a notch of the other, and said notches being substantially wider than the parts of the members crossing therein, and saidfmembers having vertically offset end parts pivotally connected to the respective walls, whereby the members may swing laterally to the extent permitted by the relative widening of said notches.

5. In a bottle crate, in combination with side and end Walls, partition members each transversely thinl segmental lateral extensions and relativelydeep narrow channel formations between the extensions, and having notches in the channel formations and crossing each other, each within a notch of the other, said notchesbeing substantially wider than the parts of the memberscrossing therein, and said members having laterally. flaring terminal channel formations with ears bent vertically from and median to said terminal formations and pivotally connected to the respective walls.

6. A- partition member for a' bottle crate having segmental lateral extensions, each extensionsubstantially less than ninety degrees in length and disposed substantially symmetrically to a center line at right angles tothe length ofthe member, and said member having longitudinabchannels alternating with the extensions, and having notches between `said extensions in the respective channels-- 7. A partition member for a bottle crate, formed of a strip of sheet metal with ton es on its ends and with median longitudlnal slits at intervals ofits length, bent transag, L 1,625,359

versely in opposite directions alternately the ends, with the extensions facing in later`-` near each end of und Within the length of ally oppositek directions, and having said each slit, forming extensions, curved in the tongues bent at un angle to the body of the 10' Vmiddle part of each extension to form conmember formed by said channels and exten- 5 cave faces on the extensions, and folded lonsions.

gitudinally on the alinement of the slits, 4HERBERT H. GERDING.

forming channels between the slits and at EDWARD A. GERDING. 

